Central Asia

In the first two months of 2024, the volume of trade through the Suez Canal decreased by 50% and through the Panama Canal by 32%, disrupting supply chains and distorting key macroeconomic indicators, according to the IMF.

The United States imposed sanctions against a Russian company (Broker Expert LLC) and a company from the Central African Republic (Bois Rouge SARLU) for facilitating Russia's malicious activities and supporting the Wagner Group in the CAR.

The EU discussed Russia's war against Ukraine with China's special representative Li Hui and expressed concern over the export of dual-use goods from China to Russia, calling on Beijing to counteract it.

Russian agents are becoming bolder abroad and may be behind high-profile assassinations of Russian defectors, such as the pilot who was shot dead in Spain after he hijacked a Russian helicopter for Ukraine.

Today, February 26, marks the Day of the Thermos, an event dedicated to one of the most useful inventions in human history. In 1892, the Scottish scientist and inventor James Dewar invented a vacuum flask for storing liquefied gases, which was not originally intended for everyday use.